Grammar schools are great learning environments as they have a strong focus on academic achievement and they support their students to flourish in their unique abilities. However, we believe that single-sex schools represent primitive ideals which in this society are generally frowned upon. Single-sex schools are unintentionally paving the way for this generation’s, heteronormative misogynist preconceptions. This less inclusive form of education is regressing into promoting gender stereotyping, sexism, heterosexism, and general prejudices regarding segregation between the different genders.

In the time period in which single-sex schools were originally conceived, society was more heteronormative than ever. Single-sex marriage was illegal across the world, and most people were repulsed by even the idea of it. However, in this “progressive” world we currently live in, society has become more diverse than ever.

Gender is not binary, and the fact that these schools are only inclusive of conservative gender roles is bad enough in itself. However, the implications of this can lead to stressful situations and lower self-esteem for the students that attend these schools. For example, if someone attends a single-sex school and in later years experiences gender dysphoric symptoms and discovers they are gender fluid, this means that their pronouns are ever-changing. If one day they identify as female and the next, they identify as male, they can’t switch schools that frequently subsequently leading to extremely uncomfortable situations in lessons and often bullying.

A lot of single-sex schools allow non-binary gender identities as long as their biological sex matches that of the school's entrance policy which is not only disregarding and invalidating their identity but brings the term gender down to genitalia which is incorrect at best and damaging at worst. One in 200 people are intersex, which is the same amount of natural redheads, and if they don't fit into the binary categories of male or female, it comes down to gender identity which
This cannot be said unfortunately for same-sex schools, as they continue to represent primitive concepts. Statistics say that single-sex schools perform better than mixed schools, however 80+% of all grammar schools, in Kent, tend to be single-sex.

Sexism is a big problem in single-sex schools, and we believe that’s because of less exposure to different genders. 1 in 6 people are lgbtq+ and that figure is growing every day.
There is of course the argument that students (specifically girls) work better in single-sex environments. This is because boys tend to be more boisterous than girls. However, they will only get more undisciplined for as long as they are separated from other genders. It will start off rough no doubt, but different genders learning to cooperate and work together is a much better way of preparing kids for adult life than segregation. This vicious circle will only keep repeating if something is not done.

Even if in the short term, this only means more extracurricular activities with other single-sex schools, the more exposure to other genders the better.

If life is co-ed, then why aren’t schools?